Day 214

Y'all know I'm not much of a Halloweenie. ha We didn't even buy a pumpkin this year. No candy - cause that would just be cruel with me counting points.

We live in the country...like no one, and I do mean NO ONE ever stops. I always hated dressing up and knocking on people's doors that my parents knew but that I didn't really know to get candy. Ugh! I always wanted to live in town where I could stay at home and pass out candy. That has never happened and as much as I love the city life, it will probably never happen. haha My grandma used to only buy enough treats to put together about 5-7 goodie bags - 2 for my cousins Mandy and Julie Ann (just a few years older than me), 2 for me and my sister, and 1 or 2 extras in case M&JA brought a friend with them (which often happened). That makes for a sad Halloween. :p

I didn't even wear black or orange today like some of my more festive co-workers...I wore gray and pink! ha The one thing I like about Halloween is the Charlie Brown special...The Great Pumpkin. Childish, huh? Oh well. At least it isn't scary! hahahaha

My picture for the day reminds me of what I do love about this time of year - FALL. It's harvest season around these parts and the field across the road from our house (that we rent to a local farm family) is one of the few fields still standing. Corn is the last thing to be harvested this year. This is reason enough to celebrate the last day of October and look forward to a crisp November!

Happy Fall Y'all! ;)

**Update: Wasn't gonna exercise tonight because I had a headache earlier (lack of caffeine the past few days - I had finally given it up for the most part and now I'm back to my bad habits!), but was feeling guilty so I hopped on the treadmill and did an easy 3.5 paced walk at a 1% incline for a total of 1.5 miles.

Day 213

A lot of Halloween crappola on tv this weekend...ugh! I have never been a fan of Halloween. Have I mentioned that before? hmmm...anyway, I just don't care all that much for it. A lot of movies that I wouldn't ever watch. I don't like to be scared. Too jumpy to watch those kinds of movies! ha

I slept in this morning - glorious! My bedroom was like a frozen tundra, so I turned on the heater. Toby always barks at it when it kicks on (like its the worst thing in the world) and then he immediately remembers that this monstrosity provides the heat that he loves so much (he would prefer it be about 80+ degrees all the time) and plops his itty bitty self right in front of the heater. This is his bliss....ha

I finally motivated myself to do something for the day and hopped on the treadmill to do W3D1 of C25K. My knees are definitely aching this afternoon since I stood all day yesterday too. Now I can be lazy the rest of the day. haha :)

Day 212

My feet hurt. Like really, really hurt. Spent the WHOLE day standing and talking to customers at our Holiday Open House. It's work to get it together, but it's always a lot of fun! I love helping people get their Christmas and other shopping done. The Quarter Auction was a lot of fun again...some of our guests get pretty competitive trying to win the item they want...and it's all luck of the draw. haha

my Holiday booth

I LOVE my cousin Ethan's shirt...too funny! I had to send a pic to my sis ;)

The original plans involved coming home and making a nice dinner, but I was just too tired...and so was mom. So we changed our plans and went to Sakura for Japanese Hibachi (yum, yum, yum!) and then did our weekly grocery shopping. I had a fun surprise in the mail - my certificate from Scentsy for having a great sales month in September, along with another charm for my bracelet. I'm working on having a whole bunch of $ charms on it. ha

waiting for dinner to begin

Scentsy award

I am too tired to function, but I will appreciate having the whole day to rest on Sunday!

Day 211

Friday was a busy day. I worked until 11am, as always. I had to go meet a customer at my cousin's salon so they could smell the Scentsy scents. (think little old lady with white hair who gets her hair done every Friday...ha) I also spent the afternoon loading my car and mom's truck with all my Scentsy stuff for the Holiday Open House on Saturday. Luckily, the people who had rented the hall for Friday night cancelled, so I was able to go set up mostly everything in my booth that night. For all our hard work, mom and I had dinner at The Grub Co. We rarely eat there anymore since I am trying to lose weight, but I sure do love it when we do! ha I even had enough weekly points left to have a piece of their Frozen Mud Pie...killer! :)

curly hair day & got to wear my new Columbia fleece

life on the farm :)

beautiful chilly fall day

Scentsy Giveaway!!

Go get entered to win my Scentsy giveaway on Neely's fantastic blog!! :)

5QF - 10/28

Woohoo! It's FRIDAY!

I love Fridays...a 4 hour work day, start of the weekend, 5QF, etc. :)

I am happy to report that I did not gain any weight this week, but sad to say I didn't lose any. Staying the same is better than gaining so I guess I'll have to be happy with that! ha Looks like I'm gonna have to get myself re-trained to the morning workout as well as after work if I wanna keep losing those pesky pounds! I, the self-proclaimed morning person, have a difficult time getting out of bed in the winter. I am a sunlight person. I can be up at any hour providing there is sunlight. Darkness means E1 is a bit depressed and sleepy. haha Time to start visiting the tanning bed so I can get my vitamin D (good excuse, right?) and be a little more cheerful about the extra hours of no light.

And no for some Five Question Friday fun...one of the questions was my contribution to Mama M this week! Join in for the fun!




- - -

1. Do you prefer cotton, silk, or flannel sheets?

I normally prefer cotton sheets. I did always use flannel sheets during the winter months back in my college days. Those dorms and apartment buildings are certainly not the highest standard of winter-proofing. haha I don't think I'd like silk...maybe just a higher thread count of cotton. ;)


2. What time zone are you in?

I am in the forsaken Eastern (Indiana) time zone. Our oh so wise (read the sarcasm there) governor thought it was smart for us to be on Daylight Savings time which most people would agree is a crock of shit.


3. What is your favorite part of the holiday season?

My favorite part of the holiday season has always been (and hopefully always will be) family time. I love any excuse we can find for our family to get together. I am so lucky to have a FUN family. We laugh A LOT. We drink and be merry. ;) We play cards and dominoes and Pit and Uno. We eat lots of yummy homecooked food. We stay up all hours of the night talking. Definitely my favorite memories of the past few years have been sleepless nights where my cousins, aunts, uncles, mom and sis are all gathered together just for the heck of it.


4. What is your favorite "wintry" drink? (doesn't have to be an alcoholic drink)

Isn't this a no-brainer??? HOT CHOCOLATE! Yum! We seriously drink lots and lots of hot cocoa each winter. I still have yet to find the delicious mix they served on one of my flights to/from Hong Kong. I believe it was Cadbury. Anyone know where to find Cadbury Hot Chocolate mix?? It was DIVINE.


5. In your opinion, what is the worst job in the world?

hmmm...the worst job in the world to me would probably be working at a zoo. I don't think I could do it. I love animals, but I don't love 'em enough to want a professional job where I take care of exotic animals that could attack at any time. I have a friend that works with apes and gorillas. That would scare the beejeezus out of me on a daily basis!

Day 210

Thank goodness it's...almost Friday! haha I am glad this whirlwind week is coming to an end, even though my weekend is going to be busy.

Today was a cold, rainy Indiana day. Fall is really starting to set in. It was kinda sad to come home and see an empty deck...we put the patio chairs on the front porch because it is covered and more protected from the elements. It is nice to FINALLY see the leaves change colors! :)

Tonight after work, I decided to finish Week 2 of C25K. I am hoping to fit some exercise time in tomorrow, but I have a hectic schedule running errands after work, so I'm not sure it'll happen. I wanted to make sure I got W2 finished before the weekend. It felt good to push myself a little more with each day of the program and get more distance out of the same time.

This evening I was working on scent samples for my Scentsy Scent of the Month club and Toby was so tuckered out he thought he should snuggle with me during a break. It's lucky for him that he's so cute...if not, he'd sure be a pest! Oh wait, he IS a pest! haha We just put up with it because of that cute lil mug. ;)

Day 209

Tonight I completed W2-D2 of C25K. I really was not wanting to run tonight (overheated from work - it was too hot in there today!), but I did it anyway and am glad that I did. I felt slightly less guilty for consuming a piece of the apple filled butter braid tonight! ha I did have plenty of points for it, but still....

Day 208

Even though I had my last fillings appointment at the dentist tonight, I still managed to squeeze in a 1 mile fast paced walk on the treadmill.

I got excited to see our ad in the paper today for this weekend's holiday open house...silly, I know! ha I'm hoping we have a good turnout like last time...but better! :)

Day 207

I thought today would be another one of those Manic Mondays, but it surprised me and turned out pretty decent! :)

Tonight I completed W2-D1 of the C25K program. I thought I would be struggling to complete it because I hadn't been on the treadmill since last Wednesday or Thursday, but it went well! I was trying to break in my new kicks tonight. This weekend I bought a pair of K-Swiss Tubes. It wasn't the pair I was wanting, but the other 2 pairs I really liked were out of stock in my size. Argh! :( So far, these shoes seem to be okay. Time will tell. haha

While I was on the treadmill, my nice momma went out and scraped the old window sticker off and put my new vinyl decal on. It looks awesome! I loved the purple from before, but it just didn't "POP" and you couldn't see it very well. Now that my car has been re-branded, hopefully I'll see some new business from it! Well, I can hope. ;)

More Giveaways!

The ever so adorable Neely is having a week of giveaways since she has hit 1,000 followers! Hop over to her blog and hopefully you'll be a winner...I'll let you know when my item is up for grabs later this week! :)

 Just click the button below to go to Neely's blog!

Day 206

Happy LAZY Sunday everyone! :)

I have a massive to do list to conquer, but I am having difficulty finding the energy to do anything...let alone the list! I have managed to do a few things - clean and wash my car, label some Scentsy products, take care of some emails, and wash and change the bed linens. I still really need to dust and vacuum my bedroom, plus vacuum the kitchen and bathroom, but we shall see if I muster up enough motivation to do it. haha

Mom and I got Chinese today for lunch and had so much left over that it also became dinner. It was a little bit of a splurge for me, but still had plenty of points. My fortune today read:

Day 205

Frost.
Cool temperature.
Sunshine.
Football.
Sister.
Good food.
Sunburn.
Fall.

Today was an absolutely PERFECT day. I am as sincere as anybody could be when saying that. It's no secret that Autumn is my favorite time of the year. I wish it were like this year round!

My morning started out by scraping the frost off my car windshield. Yes, really.

Jen & I made the one hour drive northwest to God's country, aka Purdue University. :) Every single time I go back to my beloved alma mater, it feels like home. Corny, maybe. It's the truth. I love it. I never get enough of walking across campus (and trust me, it's a hike from the south side where we always park to the north side where the football stadium is located). The trees are in the midst of changing colors, the air had a nice chill to it, the sun was shining so brightly we had to wear our sunglasses, the homecoming crowd's energy was buzzing in the air...and the Boilers pulled off a win! Actually, the sun was so warm that we ended up with sunburnt faces and necks! ha LOVE it.

Purdue's Bell Tower

always have to get our souvenir cup each season!

Boiler Up! *toot, toot*

sister bonding time :)

Homecoming half-time show included the Alumni Band

After the game was over, we made our way back to Indy for dinner at Boogie Burger and dessert at BRICS. I tried another flavor tonight as a sample, but once again ended up getting my all-time favorite flavor, Broad Ripple Blackberry. It makes me almost as blissful as peanut butter pie! (see the previous post, Day 204 - haha)

I headed back to southeastern IN and made a quick stop for groceries. I carried everything into the house and immediately put it all in it's rightful place! It felt good to get everything settled and have time to relax this evening. Somehow the hours have passed in a blur since I've been home...which is why I'm still awake and blogging at nearly 11pm! It's almost an hour past my bedtime. ha :p

Great day in the life of E1! Days like this make it okay that I was shopping alone at Wal-Mart for groceries at 7pm on a Saturday night....while all the cute happily married couples were doing the same thing, all dressed up like they'd just been on a date or were headed out next.

Day 204

Friday ended up being a really nice day - there wasn't a drop of rain and the sun was shining! It was a little chilly, but perfect fall weather. :)

I got up extra early and did the Slim in 6 ab workout before getting ready for work. (that was killer after not doing it for about a month...sad, since it's only an 11 minute workout!) I worked my usual 4 hours, then ran some errands.

Funny story of the day: When I stopped to pick up my paycheck from my second "job" (payroll for the excavating company), I was backing up from the building and had to do a double-take...wouldn't ya know, there was a horse out! So like any good farm kid, I pulled over to the other side of the barn and tried to coax the horse away from the road and towards the back gate. I called my boss, Matt, and told him there was a horse out. I can't repeat his comments! ;) hahahaha I was relieved of my horse watching duties and he dispatched his dad to take care of the nuisance that has done it every day this week. Guess it's true what they say - the grass IS greener on the other side of the fence!

I was thrilled when I got the mail in....our Purdue Men's Basketball season tickets arrived!!!!! We are sooo ready for basketball season!

For those of you who know me very well, you know that I hate abhor shopping. It has always been a nightmare finding clothes that fit and are at least somewhat stylish. I've dropped 50 pounds this year, but really only gone down 1 pant size. That's kind of depressing! I've lost weight in my face, neck, chest, stomach, hips, thighs, etc...just not enough in any one place to truly be a size smaller. I've avoided clothes shopping because a) I've always hated it and b) clothes are too expensive to buy new ones each time I drop a size. I was really planning to wait until I'd gone down another size, but with the cooler temps we've had, I really needed at least 1 new winter shirt. I am excited that I am finally able to shop at Kohl's! I bought a Columbia fleece jacket (1 size smaller than I've been wearing) and a new sweater...saved $30 from regular price! If I'd bought the sweater at Lane Bryant (like I've ALWAYS had to do in the past), it would have cost me the amount I spent on both the jacket AND the sweater. I think I may be in the beginning stages of enjoying to shop. Be forewarned - I will probably be looking for shopping buddies once I get to my goal weight! ha

found some new running shoes at DSW for 40% OFF!

had to laugh at the PiggyWiggy kitchen utensils at Hobby Lobby

I finished the day with a meal at one of our family's favorite "splurge" restaurants, Scotty's Brewhouse. Yum. Yum. The peanut butter pie is TO DIE FOR. I'm not kidding. I'd give up my firstborn for a piece of that pie. And I had to save points all week to be able to enjoy this meal! Every bite of the meal was bliss. :)

I spent the night at Jen's apartment and got to meet her roomie, Heather. She's really sweet (and funny) and she has one of the best behaved dogs I've ever met. I wish Toby were as well behaved as Jersey. *sigh*

Jersey, the 100# lab, was snoring as she slept ;)

5QF - 10/21

Yay! This month is coming to a close...and fast! ha I've been busy busy busy and for the most part, loving it. :)

I've been back on track with my workouts this week. I have only missed one day and that's because I was too lazy to do anything before work (I really need to get back in that routine as well) and I had a dental appointment that night.

I am proud to say that I lost 0.8 pounds this week! Not as much as I had hoped for, but a loss is always a good thing. ha I am still 2 pounds heavier than my lowest weight so far during all this, but getting closer!

Time for a little 5QF fun! Hope you'll join in!




- - -


1. Where do you escape to when you've had enough?

If I tell you...I can't escape there any more without being "unfound!" ha Actually, I don't have much of a place. When I can, I prefer to hop in my car and go for a drive. I don't need to drive anywhere specific, I just like to have the time to myself to think, cry, laugh, sing to the radio, etc.


2. What shows are you watching this fall?

I honestly have not seen much tv, but one show I try not to miss is The Sing-Off! Have you seen it? AHHH. I freakin' love it! Other than that, I catch Glee when I can. I also like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition...then again, what's not to like about Ty Pennington? hmmmm :)


3. What was the longest road trip you've ever taken and where did you go?

Longest road trip was probably home to Orlando, FL. That's about a 14 hour drive ONE WAY. Yowza. Looking back, some really fun memories were made and we have some hysterically funny stories from it to tell. At the time, I was not so enthused. My sister, a college friend of mine, her next door neighbor (he was a last minute ride along), and I all drove together down to Orlando for the Outback Bowl to watch our beloved Purdue Boilermakers play the University of Georgia (by the way...they have stellar fans!!) on New Year's Day. Definitely an experience to remember. ;)


4. Do you plan on taking your kids to Disney World?

I don't have any kiddos yet, but yes...isn't that an obligatory trip? Oh wait, it's not! ha I have been twice, both times I was in high school. My mom and sister have never been. I think it's a pretty cool place. There's even lots to do for those of us who are non-thrill seekers. (ie...I can't even ride the Viking Ship at King's Island without blowing chunks) haha


5. What is something people would be surprised to know about you?

Well, that is tough...what don't you know about me? ha Some of you know about as much as I could publicly share (and then some!). I guess one thing most people don't know is that I have sung for several weddings. I have always loved singing and grew up in an extremely musical home. I still enjoy singing, but the last wedding I sang at was 2 years ago. 

Day 203

Today has been another cold, rainy day for the record books. Ugh.

Tonight I enjoyed the last glass of my Blackberry wine....oh yum. I was relaxed. Then I started printing some stuff on my printer. Did I mention this printer hates me? Oi. It's very contrary. It's currently rearing it's ugly head. Oh, I didn't mention I've printed 300 of the 400 pages I needed to print? Psh. ha

My exercise report for the day - I did 1 mile on the treadmill. Walk pace: 3.8 and Run pace 4.2. Not exactly fast for those of you who are real "runners", but not too shabby for the overweight girl! ha

Day 202

Oh this rainy weather has GOT to go. I mean it. I can handle it being cool (well, I won't complain too much) but I really don't wanna get wet unless I'm in a pool or at the beach! ha Besides...the rain totally wrecks good hair days. 'Nuf said.

It was quite cool today...not only did it dip and stay below 50 degrees....it was also so cool in my room that I had to fire up the heater for the first time this fall. Toby was loving it! haha

I even finished Week 1 of C25K today. I really, really didn't feel like working out, but I did it! Woohoo!

Stay dry my friends ;)

Day 201

First and foremost...don't forget to hop over to Jenni's blog (click on the blog button right below) and find out how to get your entries for my Scentsy GIVEAWAY!! :)

Today the chilly weather set in...and while I love it, I always HATE (I really do mean it in that strong of a term) to wear a coat, so I am not yet prepared for it. I think I'll have to wear my black coat, my black & gold scarf, and my black gloves to the Purdue football game this weekend cause it's gonna be cold! Argh!

I did splurge a little today and enjoyed a cookie from Panera...but I had the points for it! ;) One of our chemical sales people came down from Indy and brought goodies from Panera with her...mmmmm that was so good! ha

I really needed and wanted to relax this evening, my body just feels achy from the 2 nights of running on the treadmill and this cooler, rainy weather. Instead, I had another dental appointment. Fun, fun I tell ya! I can't even enjoy a glass of wine because my face is still numb...and as usual, probably will be until some point late into the night.

GIVEAWAY!!

Hop over to Jenni's blog today or tomorrow to enter the giveaway from......ME!! :) It's a great chance to win some free Scentsy! LOTS of ways to earn chances! Go play along!! PLEASE ;)

Day 200

Woohoo! Today feels like a milestone....was it really 200 days ago that I started this crazy "take a picture a day" project? Looks that way! ha

Today I made time to do a C25K workout. My legs and feet are killing me tonight...ugh. This weekend I am on a mission to get some new tennis shoes for my workouts! I've put lots and lots of miles on the current pair, so I'm going to retire them to my everyday shoes (well, I only wear tennis shoes on Fridays..ha) and throw out my current "everyday shoes" since they are beyond worn out. Hopefully that will help some of the pain I've been experiencing in my knees/legs/feet.

Tonight I enjoyed a little treat we've been having a lot...homemade salsa, cheese dip, and tortilla chips! Yum!

Days 197-199: Weekend Recap

I can't believe another weekend is nearly over. It seems no sooner than they begin, they quickly end! I was in desperate need of this weekend...time with family and no agenda. ha

Friday

After I got off work and finished my errands, I found plenty of time to relax at home with Toby. He has been extra cuddly lately, so I allowed him to dictate (like I had a choice!? ha) how we sat on the couch and he made himself right at home! He can be a sweet lil baby, but usually he's rotten as sin. ;)

That evening, Jenna made it home earlier than we anticipated, so we made our way down to Zach's house in Georgetown. Mom, Jen, and Zach sat around the firepit for a few hours and I...took a nap! ha That sounds pathetic, huh? Oh well. I was in major need of some sleep. Each night this past week, I've been so tired that I've snoozed while watching tv.



Saturday

A somewhat early start to our day meant a splurge for breakfast...Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte (blogging friends, it's your fault I'm in love with this drink!) and Frank's Donuts. Yum. Seriously, so good. It's a good thing I don't live close to either of those places! ha We made the 3 hour drive to Gatlinburg, TN...oh what a glorious place. :) We've made a yearly trip for the past few years and before that, we had been several times since young kids. I wish the leaves had been more colorful, but it was still a beautiful drive. The traffic was insane and we had enough of the craziness before it even really started! I knew it would be busy, but never anticipated the long lines of the traffic that actually were there. We made our 3 wine stops (Hillside, Mountain Valley, and Apple Barn). We enjoyed lunch at one of our fave spots in Pigeon Forge, Little Tokyo (hibachi grill - SUPER cheap lunch). Then we made a stop we'd never made before...but we'll surely be back for more Ole Smokey Mountain Moonshine. haha If you've never had Apple Pie 'shine, you're missing out!! A mere 12 hours after the leaving Zach's house, we returned. We had a simple dinner of homemade nachos and then enjoyed some time around the firepit. We were all pretty beat (that always tends to happen on long car rides), so it was a fairly early night.

Sunday

Today was a wonderful day to sleep in. Most people would think 7:30 is early, but for us, it was definitely sleeping in! Zach made us biscuits and gravy for breakfast (oh my, it was soooo good!). After we were all lazy, just laying around the living room for a few hours, it was time to pack up and head back to Indiana. We made a quick lunch stop and got home around 1pm. We had lots of wine to unload from my car! ha :) Jenna made her way back to Indy. Mom and I have been doing laundry and settling back in for the week. While mom went outside to work, I got back on the exercise bandwagon! I am starting C25K over AGAIN. This time I plan to be a little more accountable and post screen shots after I finish the workouts each week.

Now it's time to grill some steaks and red potatoes for dinner. MMMMM Can't wait! ha

Hope you've all survived the weekend and are ready for another long week!